1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hydraulically damping rubber or elastomeric bearing which bearing comprises an inner tube, an outer tube located concentrically or eccentrically in relation to the inner tube and at some distance from the inner tube, and a rubber part inserted between the inner tube and the outer tube. In the bearing are at least two chambers which are filled with damping fluid and are hydraulically connected to one another. In each chamber there is a stop body, which stop bodies are connected to one another by an element which has a hydraulic connection. The element thereby has a groove which is open toward the radial outside and is located on the inside of the outer tube so that the groove, together with the inside of the outer tube, forms the hydraulic connection.
2. Background Information
Such known rubber bearings are disclosed in, e.g., German Patent No. 36 17 787 C2, in which the chambers are provided with stop bodies, and in which the hydraulic connection between the two chambers is located in a rigid element. Because the rigid element runs over the entire periphery, an installation is required for the assembly of this element in the outer tube. Accordingly, the element must be realized in two parts.
Because the element is located over the entire periphery of the outer part and is held on both sides of the rubber part, one disadvantage is that when radial loads are applied to the bearing, on one hand the useful life of the bearing is reduced, and on the other hand there is an overflow of the damping medium between the web of the rubber part and the element.
Also known are rubber bearings (e.g. European Patent No. 0.656.487 A1), in which there is a hydraulic connection between the two chambers. The element which has the hydraulic connection is realized in the form of a fold-up component, whereby the hydraulic connection is located in the plug-in or receiving terminal area of the element. The hydraulic connection therefore can only be realized so that it continues just into the respective chamber, which means that greater channel lengths cannot be realized on account of the configuration of the stop bodies. The hydraulic connection specifically runs on the inside wall of the element.
Also known are rubber bearings (e.g. German Patent No. 27 55 117) which comprise an outer bearing sleeve and an inner part which is held inside by an elastomer body, whereby the elastomer body, above and below the inner part, has recesses which function as a spring travel chamber. In this embodiment, no provision is made for hydraulic damping by damping medium. The metal inner part is provided on one of the outer sides adjacent to the recesses with a recess which runs in the longitudinal direction and in which an elastic stop body is inserted.
Also known are hydraulically damping rubber bearings (e.g. German Patent No. 38 18 287), in which stop bodies are provided outside the chamber which chamber is filled with the damping medium. These stop bodies take up a correspondingly large amount of space which is not available under all installation conditions, so that in such cases, alternative construction solutions must be used.